Castlevania: Nocturne - Season 1 (2023) Cre: Clive Bradley

Some of my earliest website-exclusive reviews were in regards to the excellent 'Castlevania' series - a show that I enjoyed all four seasons of greatly. It should therefore come as no surprise that I was very eager to check out this Clive Bradley crated spin-off series from Netflix.

The animation gave me slightly mixed feelings. I'm not even sure if it was all that different to the original Netflix series, but, for whatever reason, the characters in lighter coloured costumes just stuck out a little too much. Everything else looked pretty great though, including the action sequences.

I didn't like the characters as much as the original 'Castlevania' series, at least in regards to the main protagonists. That said, they did still grow on me as the season progressed. The limited number of episodes could be a contributing factor, so I would imagine that the second season might help.

The narrative started off a little weakly, but picked up momentum steadily before culminating in an exciting finale with a truly epic season one cliffhanger. I had been a little bored by the first two episodes, but the last few were much better. Once the story really picked up, it was much easier to enjoy.

Overall, while I wasn't exactly enamoured by the first couple of episodes, I'm very glad that I stuck with it, because it got a lot better. I do with it had one or two more episodes, to give the characters and story a little more time to breathe. That said, I am still keen on watching the second season, which im hoping will start as strong as this season finished.